سورة النحل

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): In this verse, Allah has brought a proof and argument against those who hold that there are two gods (idolaters and polytheists), and He says: لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ إِلهَیْنِ اثْنَیْنِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ إِلهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَإیَّایَ فَارْهَبُونِ [Take not two gods, He is only one Allah; so of Me alone should you be afraid].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ إِلهَیْنِ اثْنَیْنِ إِنَّمَا هُوَ إِلهٌ وَاحِدٌ [Take not two gods, He is only one Allah] — that is, you must not have two imams and leaders; rather, the imam and leader is only one.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): There will never be two imams at one time unless one of them is silent and does not speak until the other imam departs from the world.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The number one is the One Allah who has no partner, and the number two is the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: لا تَتَّخِذُوا إِلهَیْنِ اثْنَیْنِ إِنَّما هُوَ إِلهٌ واحِد [Take not two gods, He is only one Allah].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked: "Why is it not permissible to say that the world has had more than one Creator?!" He said: "What can be conceived from this statement has several possibilities: either both those creators are strong and pre-eternal, or both are weak, or one is strong and the other is weak. If we suppose both to be strong, why does each not push the other aside so as to hold the station of lordship alone?! If you imagine one to be weak and the other strong, in reality you have one Allah, because you yourself acknowledge the weakness of the other. And if you say that both possess power in equal measure and are alike and similar in every respect, or that they are two entirely different powers — what we see of the order of existence refutes this view; because the order of created beings, the celestial orbits, and the difference and succession of night and day and the moon and the sun indicate the harmony of the management of affairs; therefore the Manager is one."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): If someone were to say, "Why is it not possible for there to be two or more Imams at one and the same time?" the answer is: "For various reasons. One of these reasons is that the conduct and management of a single person is always consistent, whereas two people do not have exactly the same conduct and management, and the proof of this is that we cannot find any two people who do not have differing intentions and wills. Now, if it is supposed that obedience to two people is simultaneously obligatory, while in every situation their will and management differ, and it is supposed that obedience to one does not take precedence over obedience to the other, then certainly in this case differences of conduct, disputes, and corruption will arise, and in that state, anyone who obeys one of the two will certainly have refused to obey the other; in that case, sin will spread universally among the people of the earth, and there will be no way to obedience and faith; and the one at fault in this would be the Creator Himself, who, by commanding them to follow two different and divergent orders, has left the door open for difference and dispute. Likewise, if there were two Imams and two persons had a dispute with each other, each one could refer, in the ruling, to an Imam other than the other person's Imam, and neither of the two Imams would have greater priority for being referred to; as a result, the rulings, rights, and hudud (prescribed penalties) would be nullified. Furthermore, neither of these two proofs (hujjahs) has any priority over the other with respect to speech, ruling, command, or prohibition; so both may begin to speak, and given that the imamate has a single method, neither of them has the right to guide his companion to anything [contrary to that method]. If silence is permissible for one of the two Imams, it is also permissible for the other; and when both are permitted to be silent [and not express an opinion], the rights and rulings become invalid and the hudud are suspended, and it would be as if the people had no Imam at all!"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Asbat narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that, regarding Allah's admonitions concerning Isa (peace be upon him), he said: Allah said to Isa (peace be upon him): "O Isa (peace be upon him)! Seek Me beside your pillow (in every state, remember Me), and you will find Me; call upon Me, for you are dear to Me, and when you call upon Me, I am the most hearing of those who hear and the most responsive to those who ask. O Isa (peace be upon him)! Fear Me, and make My servants fear [My punishment] as well; perhaps thereby they will refrain from the deeds they are doing, for [these deeds] destroy them while they know [their evil]. O Isa (peace be upon him)! Just as you fear a predatory beast and death, which you will surely encounter, fear [the punishment of] Me too, for all these (predatory beasts and death) I have created; فَإِیَّایَ فَارْهَبُونِ [so of Me alone should you be afraid]."